Closure



Dec. 12, 1939. G, DUFFlELD 2,183,488

CLOSURE Filed June 1, 1936 INVENTOR cm W BY W K M M ATTORNEY I tions intercommunica-te.

Patented Dec. 12, 1939 PATENT OFFECE CLOSURE George Bethune Dufli'eld, Detroit, Mich., assignor toDetroit' Lubricator Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application June 1, 1936, Serialv No. 82,790

2 Claims.

My invention relates generally to radiators of heating systems and more particularly to closure devices for closing a passage connecting the outlet section and adjacent section of a radiator.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro-- vide a new and improved closure device which is adapted, among other uses, for closing a passage connecting two radiator sections to facilitate the discharge of air from a radiator.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved closure device for closing and sealing a passage or aperture through a wall of a radiator in a fluid-tight manner, and one which may be easily and quickly attached to the radi- 1 ator.

Another object of my invention is to provide a closure device of the abovementioned character which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

The invention consists in the improved construction and combination of parts, to be more fully described hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, to be taken as a part of this specification. I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention, in which drawing- Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a heat radiator embodying my invention V Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary View shown in vertical central cross section of'a radiator having my improved closure device;

Fig. 3 is a View in cross section showing a modification of my closure devicej Fig. 4" is a view in cross section showing another modification of my closure device;

Fig. 5' is a view in cross sectionv showing a still further modification of my closure device, and

Fig; 6 ice perspective view of the closure device shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference the numeral l designates in general'a conventio-n-al type of heat radiator consisting of a plurality of connected hollow sections, the end 1 sections 2 and 3 constituting the inlet and outlet sections, respectively, for the heating medium. Adjacent their upper and lower ends the radiator sections have'the usual aligning, threaded apertures in their opposite sidewalls for receiving externally threaded tubular members, or nipples which rigidly secure the sections together andde- 1 fine passages 6 through whichthe radiator sec- The outlet section 3 is provided in its outer end wall with the usual threaded aperture, designated atv l, in alignment with the upper passages 6, the aperture 1 being closed by an externally threaded closure plug 8. Secured in and to theside wall of the outlet-sec-- tion s there is shown a conventional type of valve it, which may be of the thermostatic type, for, venting air from the radiator and for preventing. the escape of the steam, or other heating medium, from the radiator.

Referring more particularly to'Fig. 2, my closure device includes a closure member ll for closingthe upper passage 6 between the end outlet section 3 andthe adjacent section of the radiator. The closure member I! preferably overlies the open end of the upper passage 6 that opens into the outlet section 3, and the closure membermay seat or abut against the inner wall surface of' the section 3, or may abut the end of the tubular connecting member 5, or may seat against both, as desired. Preferably the closure member I l' is formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, so that it can be compressed to close and seal the passage 6 in a fluid-tight manner. A backing member, preferably in the form of a metallic plate I2, is provided and lies flat against j the outer side of the closure member II. The backing plate I! and. closure member I I are provided with centrally disposed, aligning apertures for slidably receiving a connecting, or thrust member, preferably in the form of a rod l3 that has an end portion extending into the passage 6. The other, or outer end of the thrust member l3 projects into the outlet section 3 and is preferably formed having a head It providing an external annularshoulder or abutment facingtoward the closure member IL, Surrounding, and abutting. the backing plate l2 there is preferably provided a packing in the form, of a gasket I 5 of rubber, or. other suitably compressible material,

to aid the resilient closure member H in pre- 40 venting theleakageof fluid from passage 6 along the surface. of, thevthrust rod, l3. Preferably the gasket 15 is provided with a backingmember- It in the form of a washer which lies flat against the outer face of the gasket. Surrounding thethrust rod, I 3 there is a coil spring I! for urging the sure member ll against its seat, or against the inner wall of the outlet section 3. The coil spring ll has one end abutting the head M of the thrust When thespring I1 is under compression it exerts a force acting to hold the closure member ll tightly against its seat, and also compresses the closure member and gasket E5 to prevent the passage of fluid bew-een. the outer surface of the thrust 55,

rod l3 and the other end abutting the washer [6, 59

rod 3 and the inner surface defining the aperture through the closure member H and gasket l5.

Carried by the thrust rod l3, at its other or inner end, there is a holding or latch member having a pair of flexible lever arms |8 that are adapted to pass through passage 6 into the section adjacent the outlet section 3, and engage the adjacent inner wall of said adjacent section to hold the spring under compression. The flexible lever arms I8 are each pivotally connected at one end to the rod l3 by a pin l9 that extends through aligned apertures in the lever arms and rod. Adjacent its inner end the rod I3 is formed having an external annular flange 20 providing a shoulder that faces toward the lever arms l8, and surrounding the rod |3 there is a helical coil spring 2| having one end in abutment with the annular flange 20 and its other end in abutment with the lever arms l8 at points either side of the common pivot point of the lever arms. The spring 2| is under compression and acts to pivot the lever arms I8 outwardly or away from each other. The inner ends of the lever arms l8 are arranged to abut each other, as at 22, when the levers are at substantially right angles to the longitudinal axis of rod l3, to limit outward pivotal movement of the lever arms. When the lever arms |8' are in abutment, their combined length is greater than the diameter of the passage 6 so that outer end portions of the lever arms abut the inner wall surface of the radiator section adjacent the outlet section 3.

To assemble the closure device to the radiator to close the passage between the end outlet section 3 and the adjacent radiator section, the closure device is inserted into section 3 through the aperture 1 and the flexible arms l8 are pushed through the passage 6 by pressing on the head M of the thrust rod I3. The coil spring 2| yields permitting the lever arms l8 to move inwardly toward each other so that they can pass through passage 6, and when the outer ends of the lever arms pass beyond the inner end of the nipple into the section adjacent section 3, they will be flexed outwardly by the spring 2| to the position shown in Fig. 2. The coil spring I! is then held under compression between the head l4 of the rod I3 and the closure member II, and urges the closure member tightly against the inner wall of section 3 to close and seal the passage 6.

Referring now to my closure device shown in Fig. 3, this device is similar to the device of Fig. 2 and therefore like parts of the two devices are designated by like numerals. The closure device of Fig. 3 differs from that of Fig. 2 in respect to the latch member, designated in general by the numeral 23, for holding the closure member against its seat, or against the wall surrounding the open end of the passage leading into the outlet section 3. The latch member 23 is formed having a pair of oppositely disposed, integral, fiexible or resilient arms 24 that extend in spaced longitudinal relation to each other and extend longitudinally of and within the passage 6. The free ends of the arms 24 have outturned extended portions 25 that are adapted to position within the radiator section adjacent the outlet section 3 and abut the inner wall of said adjacent section to hold the coil spring under compression. Where the arms 24 join each other the latch member 23 is preferably formed having an extended portion 26 that joins the arms 24 and extends With n P8 sage 6 toward the closure member The rod I3 projects into passage 6 and its inner end is bifurcated, in the present instance, to receive the extended portion 26 which may be secured to the rod I 3 by rivets, or by other suitable means. 5 To assemble the closure device of Fig. 3 to a radiator the flexible arms 24 are pressed inwardly toward each other so that their extended end portions may position within the passage 6, and the latch member 23 is then pushed through the passage 6 by pressing on the head l4 of rod l3. When the outturned end portions 25 emerge from passage 6 into the section adjacent the outlet section 3, the arms 24 will be free to move outwardly from each other to their inert position with the outturned end portions 25 abutting the inner wall of the radiator section, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position the latch member 23 will be held against movement toward the closure member I I and will hold the coil spring I! under compression to urge the closure member against its seat.

Referring now to the modified form of closure device shown in Fig. 4, the closure member II is held tightly in position over an open end of the passage 6 by a holding means 28 that is carried by the closure member, and extends into the passage 6. The holding means 28 has a base portion 29 in the form of a plate that lies flat against the inner side of the closure member and may be secured thereto by a rivet 30, or by other suitable means. Integral with the base portion 29 there is a plurality of spaced spring fingers 3| that extend from the outer peripheral edge of the base and substantially transverse thereto. The spring fingers 3| extend longitudinally of the passage 6 and at their free ends are preferably formed having outturned, bent or rounded portions 32 so that the end edges of the fingers 3| frictionally engage the inner wall defining passage 6. When the closure member II is in position closing the passage 6, the spring fingers 3| are held under tension with their end edges engaging the wall of passage 6 to prevent outward movement of the closure member.

Referring to the modified form of closure member shown in. Figs. 5 and 6, this closure member is in the form of a tube or sleeve member 32 that is fitted into the passage 6 with the outer wall surface of the tube in tight fitting relation with the innerwall defining the passage 6. One end of the tube is closed by a plate member 33 that may be soldered or otherwise suitably secured to the tube 32. The plate member 33 has an outer annular border portion 34 that projects beyond the outer periphery of the tube 32 and provides an external annular flange that seats against the wall surrounding the open end of passage 6 leading into the outlet section 3 of the radiator. The tube 32 is formed of spring sheet metal and is made with its outer diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the passage 6, and along the length of the tube there is provided one or more channel-like, indented or bent portions 35. The bent portions 35 permit the periphery of the tube to decrease in size when the tube is pressed into the passage 6, and the bent portions are held under tension acting to radially expand the tube 32 and hold the outer wall of the tube tightly in engagement with the wall of passage 6.

When steam enters the radiator it will, of course, drive the air ahead of it to the last section, or outlet section 3, from which the air will be vented to outside atmosphere via the air vent valve l0. By closing the upper passage 6 between the last, or outlet section 3 and adjacent section, steam will be permitted .to pass to the outlet section from the adjacent section only through the lower passage 5. As a result of closing the upper passage 6 it will be seen that substantially all of the air in the radiator will be vented before the steam afiects and closes the thermostatic valve l0. As is well known, if both the upper and lower passages between the outlet section 3 and adjacent section were left open, steam would enter section 3 through the upper and lower passages 6 at substantially the same'time, with the result that air would be trapped in the outlet section.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A fitting for use in connection with conduits, comprising a plate-like member for cooperation with the conduit wall and having a central aperture therethrough, a thrust member extending through and guided in said aperture, means surrounding said thrust member and closing said aperture against flow around said thrust member, said thrust member having an abutment adjacent one end of said thrust member, a helical coil spring surrounding said thrust member and held under compression between said abutment and said aperture closing means and acting to urge said aperture closing means into engagement with said plate-like member, said thrust member having an abutment adjacent its other end, a pair of oppositely extending arm members fulcrumed on the said other end of said thrust member and outwardly of said second-named abutment, said arm members being movable in one direction to bring their free ends adjacent said thrust member, means to limit movement of said arm members in the opposite direction so that said arm members will be held agains movement with respect to each other and in position for engagement with the conduit wall, and a helical coil spring surrounding said thrust member and bearing at one end against said secondnamed abutment and at its other end bearing against said arm members to urge said arm members into said engaging position.

2. A fitting for use in connection with conduits comprising a plate-like member for cooperation with the conduit wall and having a central aperture therethrough, a thrust member extending through and guided in said aperture, means surrounding said thrust member and closing said aperture against flow around said thrust member, said thrust member having an abutment adjacent one end of said thrust member, a helical coil spring surrounding said thrust member and held under compression between said abutment and said aperture closing means and acting to urge said aperture closing means into engagement with said plate-like member, said thrust member having an abutment adjacent its other end, a pair of oppositely extending arm members fulcrumed on the said other end of said thrust member and outwardly of said second-named abutment, said arm members being movable in one direction to bring their free ends adjacent said thrust member, means to limit movement of said arm members in the opposite direction so that said arm members will be held against movement with respect to each other and in position for engagement with the conduit wall, and resilient means bearing against said second-named abutment and bearing against said arm members to urge said arm members into said engaging position.

GEORGE BE'I'HUN E DUFFIELD. 

